Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Yu’e Bao, Lingqian Bao, and Yuli Bao—three e-payment tools—were constantly rolling out new promotions involving trial funds and instant rebate coupons in their battle for high-value users.

They copied each other without the slightest hesitation.

On the first day of March, the leaderboard for Orange Pay’s Yu’e Bao refreshed. The user in first place already had over 13 million.

”A net profit of 1800 a day, which is an annual income of 663,000 Hua Yuan. Turns out making a million a year is so simple—you just need to deposit 20 million in Yu’e Bao.”

”Okay, but let me ask you this: how do you make that first 20 million?”

”Whoa! The event has only been live for 18 hours and first place is already at 13 million. You don’t think they’ll break a hundred million by the end of March, do you?”

”Sorry for dragging everyone down. I’ve only got three yuan and change in my Yu’e Bao. That’s my breakfast money for tomorrow.”

The buzz on Weibo continued to grow. Combined with the gimmick of a chance to have lunch with Chen Yansen, keywords like ”Yu’e Bao” and ”10 Billion in Trial Funds” remained firmly in the top ten on the hot search list.

Chen Yansen couldn’t care less about any of this.

He knew full well that even if Penguin and Ah Li didn’t enter the fray, Orange Pay and Yu’e Bao would eventually face new competitors.

The pie for online payments and internet finance was simply too large; getting even a single slice was enough to be satisfied.

Being too greedy could make you burst!

Given the current trends, as the user bases of platforms like Kuai Pao, Fast Taxi, Pinbei, and Cloud Speed Express grew, Orange Pay’s user count would rise in tandem, even without any promotion.

Such was the advantage of having complementary businesses!

After a short meeting with Zhang Yinjia and the others, Chen Yansen returned to his office, plopped down on the sofa, and summoned his system panel.

He had a total of 237,071 wisps of Human Dao Fire from February. Including the unspent remainder from January, he could synthesize 24 wisps of Immortal Dao Fire.

In other words, Senlian Capital’s monthly labor costs were over two billion, approaching 30 billion Hua Yuan a year.

’Upgrade!’

With a single thought from Chen Yansen, a plume of black-purple mist materialized out of thin air and shot into the space between his eyebrows.

In just a few seconds, his Spirit attribute had risen to 100.38.

’It looks like a lot of Human Dao Fire, but it’s nowhere near enough.’

After the enhancement, President Chen felt completely unfazed.

Although he could feel the range of his Divine Sense and the maximum weight he could telekinetically control increasing, the growth was far too slow compared to his previous boosts.

This was mainly because the e-commerce and express delivery industries had yet to enter their golden age. Once the daily parcel volume for the entire industry surpassed 400 million, even if Cloud Speed only captured half the market, it would be handling 200 million parcels.

By then, the total number of Cloud Speed Couriers would need to expand to two million, contributing two million Human Dao Fire per month.

Furthermore, the food delivery and ride-hailing industries would also experience rapid growth.

When Kuai Pao had 1.5 million riders and Fast Taxi had 3 million drivers, those two industries would generate five million Human Dao Fire per month.

His strategic blueprint was sound, but due to limitations like transportation infrastructure, network coverage, and terminal devices, achieving his goal of ten million Human Dao Fire per month was still a few years away.

Since it was Friday, most employees began to leave the Science and Technology Park one after another as soon as it hit five o’clock, while the sky was still light.

Chen Yansen glanced out the window. A crescent moon had already risen above the treetops, casting a cold, clear glow.

The lush leaves of the birch trees appeared as indistinct shadows in the moonlight, swaying in the breeze.

He rubbed his stomach and glanced in the direction of the cafeteria.

The chef was skilled, but he couldn’t stand eating the same food every day. President Chen had long grown tired of it.

’Forget it. I’ll get something different.’

With this in mind, Chen Yansen sent a text to Master Ye, telling her to bring the Teletubbies cosplay outfit to the Delta and prepare dinner.

”Which one?” Ye Qiuping asked.

”The one with the least fabric,” Chen Yansen replied instantly.

”Actually, I bought a few new outfits that are much more interesting than the Teletubbies one,” Ye Qiuping added.

”I want the Teletubby,” Chen Yansen insisted.

’Pervert!’

Ye Qiuping blushed and cursed him under her breath. Her eyes shimmered, and a faint pink flush appeared on her fair collarbones.

「Meanwhile」

After a week of preparations, Wang Zihao and Liu Jian, the general manager of the OFO Shanghai Branch, had finally won over the local Transportation Association and secured a permit to deploy their shared electric-assist bicycles.

The Central Bureau had initially refused, but they finally gave their approval after some lobbying from Pei Yi.

After all, since Kuai Pao had moved its headquarters to Hu City, it was now considered a sizable internet enterprise.

Furthermore, considering Senlian Capital’s nationwide influence, the Central Bureau gave OFO some special consideration.

”President Wang, our preliminary deployment locations are Caohejing, East China University of Science and Technology, Xujiahui, Tianlin, Wan Ti Hall, Longhua, and Binjiang, for a total of 1,000 electric-assist bikes.”

Liu Jian reported to Wang Zihao in an office on Yishan Road.

”Are the dispatch and maintenance teams in place?” Wang Zihao asked.

”Don’t worry, President Wang. I guarantee there won’t be any issues,” Liu Jian replied with a smile.

”On my way back just now, I saw DiDi Bikes and Little Yellow Bikes at the subway station,” Wang Zihao said, frowning.

”Yes, I saw them too. I heard from the Market Department that they both started their rollout today,” Liu Jian responded with a nod.

”What’s our operations department’s counter-strategy?” Wang Zihao asked.

”DiDi Bike and Little Yellow Bike are being pretty restrained for now. New users get seven ride coupons, each good for a thirty-minute ride, with one activated per day. That’s on par with our new customer promotion. We’re still not sure about their policy for returning customers,” Liu Jian quickly replied.

”We were a step too slow. Cheng Wei and Chang Wei beat us to the punch right on our home turf. OFO hasn’t even expanded north yet, and they’ve already come south,” Wang Zihao said with a cold laugh.

”I’m aware of that, President Wang. But Cheng Wei and Chang Wei had no choice. If they kept expanding north, neither the Northeast nor the Northwest would be suitable for the bike-sharing business,” Liu Jian replied with a smile.

”Haha, that’s true.” Wang Zihao laughed heartily, clenching and unclenching his fists. ”In that case, let’s take DiDi Bike and Little Yellow Bike head-on. We don’t require deposits. You’re telling me we can’t beat two companies that do?”

He paused, then narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. ”Tell the Market Department to find a few independent media outlets. Have them spread a rumor that DiDi Bike and Little Yellow Bike are at risk of their funding chain breaking. Say that if users don’t withdraw their deposits now, they might not get the chance to later.”

Wang Zihao had been learning from Chen Yansen for two and a half years. He might have looked simple and honest on the surface, but he had plenty of dirty tricks up his sleeve.

”Will users believe it? What if DiDi Bike and Little Yellow Bike haven’t actually misappropriated their deposit funds?”

The smile on Liu Jian’s face vanished. He found himself sizing up Wang Zihao again and again.

It was as if he were seeing this COO from the Hang City headquarters for the very first time.

He swallowed hard, forced to admit: ’Never judge a book by its cover. President Wang’s appearance is incredibly deceptive.’

”If you were Cheng Wei or Chang Wei,” Wang Zihao retorted, ”and you had two or three hundred million in deposits sitting in an account, would you misappropriate it?”

Liu Jian thought about it seriously before giving a bitter smile. ”I don’t know what Cheng Wei and Chang Wei would do, but if it were me... there’s an eighty percent chance I’d misappropriate the funds to pay for inventory, purchase physical ads, and buy online traffic.”

”Eighty percent? Make that one hundred percent,” Wang Zihao said with absolute certainty.

With a regulatory system that was practically nonexistent, misappropriating deposits was only natural—a matter of convenience.

”Understood, President Wang. I’ll make the arrangements,” Liu Jian said.

”Find a middleman, and make sure to cover your tracks,” Wang Zihao added, still a bit worried.

These were all dirty tricks taught to him personally by Master Chen.

Wang Zihao had learned on the job while he was in charge of Pinbei’s rollout. Although he hadn’t mastered everything, he had absorbed about thirty percent of Master Chen’s true teachings, which was more than enough to handle Cheng Wei and Chang Wei.

”I know what to do,” Liu Jian said, making an ”OK” sign.

”Alright, that’s all for now,” Wang Zihao said with a wave of his hand.

Taking the hint, Liu Jian stood up, pushed open the glass door of the conference room, and walked straight toward the main office area.

Once Liu Jian was gone, Wang Zihao took out his phone. He called Liang Bo at Toutiao, exchanged some pleasantries, and finalized the ad pop-up resources for all Hu City-based IPs for the next day.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t paying for it, so President Wang spoke with extra confidence.

Liang Bo didn’t mind and readily agreed.

’Gaode Map, Toutiao, Lingxi Browser, plus a featured banner on the Orange Application Mall... the exposure will definitely be enough.’

Wang Zihao muttered to himself after hanging up the phone.

With his connections within the corporation and the industry resources at his disposal, no one was better than him when it came to user acquisition and growth.

Ten minutes later, Wang Zihao finished his work and glanced at his watch. It was already 7:50. He looked out the window where the neon lights were just beginning to glow. The endless stream of traffic on a nearby overpass looked like a series of multicolored ribbons.

The overhead light gleamed on the watch face. In the center was the word ”Rolex.” It was the very same Rolex Explorer that Chen Yansen had.

With Wang Zihao’s current net worth, he could certainly afford a more expensive watch, but this Rolex held a special meaning. For one, it was a gift from Chen Yansen. For another, the money used to buy it had been earned by the two of them scalping campus cards back in the day.

”Holy shit! It’s almost eight, and I haven’t even eaten dinner.”

Wang Zihao rubbed his stomach, grumbling to himself as he walked out of the office building.

Normally, a college junior his age would be busy studying for grad school entrance exams or just focusing on their coursework. But not him. Ever since he joined the OFO bike project, he could count the number of times he’d been back to campus on one hand.

Last semester, he’d failed three courses in one go.

But thanks to a hint from Tang Qingshan, his failing grades in those major courses had mysteriously been changed to a passing 60.

Old Tang knew full well that Wang Zihao might one day return to Xucheng Academy as a distinguished entrepreneur and outstanding alumnus. Could he really let a student like that fail?

’That would just be a slap in his own face. The kid had to pass!’

Wang Zihao walked into the parking garage, got into the driver’s seat of a classic ”Tiger Head” Mercedes, and drove off in the direction of Riyueguang.

The next morning, Cheng Wei had just stepped into his office when Songtian Road from the Market Department rushed in. He blurted out the words before he even had a chance to catch his breath. ”President Cheng, it’s all over Toutiao, Weibo, NetEase, and Sohu News! There’s negative press everywhere saying DiDi Bike has misappropriated its deposits and that our funding is about to collapse. They’re telling users to withdraw their deposits.”

”Son of a bitch! Who did this? Who would play so dirty?” Cheng Wei asked, his face grim.